A SCOTTS Creek woman is relieved her mother was not alone when she had a fall at her home. Heather Bullen and her mother Betty Russell both live on Couch's Road and had no access to their landline phones for a week. Mrs Russell, who has been recovering in hospital, had a fall and would not have been able to call a family member for assistance. "Luckily my sister was with her at the time." An Optus spokeswoman said while she may not have known, Mrs Russell would have still been able to call Triple-0. But Ms Bullen said she was concerned about her mother's safety in the future and wanted peace of mind. "We want to set up Safety Link for her but we can't do that without a working landline." She said it was unsettling to have no way of communicating with the outside world. "It's coming up one year since the fire and I know the season is a bit different but it's just frustrating," she said. "I don't think people understand how detrimental it is." Ms Bullen's service was restored on Friday, but she fears the issues will continue as this is not the first time the service has been unavailable this year. "We need a mobile tower - end of story," she said. Ms Bullen said her mother was ready to return home last week, but couldn't until she had a working landline phone. Member for Wannon Dan Tehan said he had been advocating for funding to upgrade phone coverage in Scotts Creek in the latest round of blackspot funding. "I'll continue that advocacy and my hope is that the funding will be released soon," Mr Tehan said. "I'm hoping for a positive outcome." Mr Tehan said he would speak to the telecommunications provider about the issue. "Obviously if someone is without a landline for a week, that is not good enough," he said. An Optus spokeswoman said the issue had been resolved and the company continued to expand its network coverage in the shire. Corangamite Shire mayor Neil Trotter said it became apparent after the St Patrick's Day fires coverage was very poor in the Scotts Creek area. "It has been an ongoing issue," Councillor Trotter said. "We've been campaigning pretty vigorously for funding and we've been assured by Dan Tehan's office that there will be something forthcoming soon." RELATED CONTENT: Phone and internet service an issue Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.